In the last passage we learned that John the Baptist fulfilled his mission as the forerunner of Jesus by delivering the message of repentance, even to King Herod. John repeatedly rebuked him again and again by saying, “It is not lawful for you to take your brother’s wife, Herodias.” He was faithful to his mission even to the point of death. His martyrdom spirit made a lasting impression in the heart of God-loving Christians throughout the world. His influence remains in our hearts even today. Today Jesus demonstrated his compassion through this passage. Today’s miracle of Jesus’ feeding five thousand with five loaves and 2 fish is recorded in all four gospels. In today’s passage we learn something about Jesus. To his disciples, he said, “You give them something to eat” (37). It meant, “You should be responsible.” Do you want to become a miracle worker in Jesus? Then today Jesus speaks to you directly. May God bless us to experience the power of miracle by giving what we have to Jesus. I pray that God may give us compassion for many young people who are suffering under the power of sin and death.

PART I. HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM (30-34)

 In the previous passage the disciples had been sent out two by two for evangelistic fieldwork training and had just come back. When the disciples did exactly as they were taught, their first campus fishing was a great success. They could do a great work of God and experience the power of God. When they ordered, "You demon, come out!" demons came out of many people. All kinds of people responded to their message of repentance. They became popular among the people. Peter said, “I made the right decision to follow Jesus! I am happy now.” They felt good about themselves since they had made the big decision of faith to follow Jesus. They raised their thumbs up high. They felt like VIP in the world. The disciples were promoted as apostles because they were sent out on this fieldwork training, even though it was short-term missionary training. They were no longer young disciples. Look at verse 30. "The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught." They were like victorious soldiers who reported to their commander how they won the battle. Truly, it was a great moment for these fishermen of Galilee.

 But there was a small problem for the disciples. Look at verse 31. So many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to have a bite. So Jesus said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Jesus planned a small vacation with his disciples. Jesus recognized that his disciples needed rest because they were both body and spirit. We cannot ignore the fact that God made us a physical being. We need rest from work. In the Old Testament God commanded Israel people to give rest to the land every seven years. Travelers in the desert look for an oasis to rest their tired bodies. Sailors look for a port to rest from stormy sea. In the same way we need rest from drudgery works of this world to refresh our body and soul. So Jesus gave his disciples a retreat to a quiet place. Now they got into a boat and went away by themselves to a solitary place. They were happy that Jesus gave them a vacation. They were happy that they could have a quiet time with their master Jesus and enjoy their first staff conference. But their vacation dream was not to be.

  Many who watched their movement carefully saw them leaving and ran on foot from all the towns to get to the other side of the lake ahead of them. What a surprise! The crowd got there first before Jesus' company, and they were waiting for them. They were shameless senseless demanding people. They screwed up Jesus' retreat plan with his disciples. What compelled them to race to Jesus like waves in high tide? They came to Jesus for his help, as individuals, each with personal problems. Each person was desperate. They felt that they had an unlimited privilege to come to Jesus, because they believed that Jesus could solve their urgent problems. So they came to Jesus without an appointment. Because of these crowd of the people the staff conference was automatically canceled. Suppose you met such a demanding and senseless person, what would you do? Maybe you would say, "Hey! You guys! Call me to my cellular phone first before you come and communicate better, okay?" But what did Jesus do with these people? 

Look at verse 34. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” In this verse we learn that Jesus was different from his disciples. Instead of thinking that they were annoying people, Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Humanly speaking, they were uninvited guests--not just two or three, but over five thousand. They were too demanding. But Jesus did not turn them down. Jesus did not say, “You are dismissed. Come back later.” Jesus saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus saw their inner motives and did not judge them outwardly. It is easy to judge people before we know them personally. Jesus as a good shepherd knew the crowds one by one and had compassion on them. What is compassion? According to the Webster ‘s dictionary, compassion is sympathetic consciousness of other’s distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This means that compassion requires actions to solve other’s problems. It means that we take other’s problems as our own problem. Jesus took the problems of the crowds as his own problem. How can we have compassion for others when we have our own problems? It is possible only when we have God’s heart. God did not abandon when they were in distress but had compassion for them. Jesus had compassion for the crowds. Mothers are great because they have compassion for their children. They always find the way to help their children in distress. One who has compassion can love others as himself. We live in “Generation X” which is called the “Me” generation. People are selfish naturally. They think of themselves only. They have no idea about their wives or children. Parents divorce because they do not have compassion for their children. They do as their egos direct them. But we must overcome our selfishness and have compassion on many students who are suffering under the power of the devil.  Jesus called us to become compassionate shepherds for America. President George Bush was elected with a motto “compassionate conservative.” Mr. Bush said in his testimony, “He did not lecture or admonish; he shared warmth and concern. Graham did not make you feel guilty; he made you feel loved. Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed in my soul, a seed that grew over the next year.” Billy Graham had compassion for young George who would become the future president at that time. Luke 9:11b says, "Jesus welcomed them." It is not easy to welcome someone who messed up our private vacation schedule. But Jesus welcomed the crowd. Jesus welcomes anybody, anytime. He is available 24x7.  How could Jesus do this? Jesus saw them with God's eyes. To Jesus they were all precious children of God who needed his help. So Jesus did not rebuke their unruly behavior. Rather, he showed his deep compassion on them. 

 Why did Jesus have compassion on them? As verse 34b says, "...because they were like sheep without a shepherd." They had many problems. But to Jesus, they were pitiful because they were like sheep without a shepherd. I looked at the dictionary to understand sheep better. The definition of sheep was “a timid defenseless creature.” As we know, sheep are near-sighted and dumbest animal in the world. Raccoons do not need a shepherd but sheep need a shepherd who can take care of them all the time. What happens to sheep without a shepherd? They can go astray immediately. They can be attacked by wild animals. They can lose direction. Sheep are sheep. Sheep have no sense of direction. They needed shepherds who would guide them to the green pastures and still waters. They needed shepherds who would protect them from many wolves. As long as sheep have their shepherds, they are blessed and happy. Having a shepherd or not having one makes a big difference in our life. Abraham in Genesis was a helpless childless old man. But when he met God as his good shepherd who took care of him for 25 years, he became a source of blessing and a father of faith. Shepherd boy David felt like walking in the valley of death every day when he was hunted down by King Saul. But his good shepherd God protected him and saved him to be a shepherd king of Israel. Later King David confessed in Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” As long as his good shepherd God was with him, David was secure and happy. Most students look perfect. They seem to have no problem. But they are distressed and harassed inwardly because they have no shepherd who can give them direction and meaning in their lives.

  Last Friday YDJ (Young Disciples of Jesus) team introduced themselves by mentioning what they love most among all of the things which begin with the same letter as their first name. S. Tinuke said, “I love Tayo most.” Tayo must have been very happy because she has a good shepherd who loves her most. S. Anthony is the happiest man because he has a good shepherd like Steve. Last Saturday their Bible study session included a visit to China Buffet. Anthony was laughing and had a good time with his shepherd.  M. Sarah Chang seems like a mother shepherd to Lawson, Jonathan, Folake, Ellen, and Jason. Most of all, Jesus is our good shepherd because he gave his life to save us from our sins and to give us eternal life so that we may live in his kingdom forever. Personally, I was happy when my shepherd prayed for me when I was a young sheep. Later, God has been a good shepherd to me. He saved me from my wild life of sin and protected me from the guns of two robbers and gave me mission to serve young American students. But the people in this passage have no shepherds. The supposed shepherds who were Pharisees and the teachers of the law were all selfish and corrupted. They became like a hired hand who used sheep for their own selfish purpose. They abandoned their mission as their shepherds. Sheep suffered under their false leadership. For example, the Pharisees were not happy when Jesus healed a man with a shriveled hand. They tried to use him to accuse Jesus. King Herod beheaded a righteous man John the Baptist to please a young girl and his dinner guests. He abused his leadership position as a king. People were harassed and distressed by false shepherds. So Jesus was eager to help them by any means. His heart ran out for them. He was filled with compassion for them. He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without shepherds. Jesus welcomed them as a Good Shepherd. Jesus came into this world to lay down his life for his sheep. How did Jesus help them? He did not solve their financial problem first. He did not solve their marriage problem first. He did not solve their school problem first. Now Jesus helped the crowd to hear the word of life first. Jesus sowed the seed of life into their hearts so that they might have a living hope in the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught them many things so that they could overcome their sinful desires. Jesus was like a farmer who planted the seed of God into the heart soil of many people. We must accept that teaching the word of God is the best way to help people, because Jesus taught all kinds of people the word of God.

PART II. YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT (35-44)

 Quite a long time had passed since Jesus had begun teaching the crowd. The disciples endured as long as they could because they were promoted as apostles. They wanted to maintain their sense of prestige. But their patience was running out as their hungry stomachs growled louder and louder.  They were waiting for Jesus to finish speaking to the crowd, but every time he seemed to be coming to the conclusion, he would get fresh wind and start again saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man sowing seeds in his garden.” It looked as if he would never stop. When the western horizon was turning from red to dusky purple, the Twelve united together came forward to Jesus and interrupted Jesus' teaching. Look at verses 35b and 36. "This is a remote place, and it's already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." I think they would become good businessmen. Why? They solved the problem without any sacrifice. It was an easy solution. In contemporary terms, they said, "Let them take care of themselves." They thought the best way to handle the situation was to dismiss the crowd so that everybody could solve his own food and lodging problems. With their ability, the situation was too big to handle. So to them, it was quite reasonable to say, "Send them away so that they can buy themselves something to eat." They wanted to find an easy way to get out of this tough situation. "Send them away" is not the word of a potential leader but the word of a petty and self-centered man.

  They were very reasonable. But they were irresponsible; they had no sense of responsibility. They did not have compassion of Jesus as spiritual leaders. They needed to be trained. They needed to grow in God. What did Jesus say? Look at verse 37a. "But he answered, 'You give them something to eat.'" What a thunderous command! Wow! It was a big surprise to them. The disciples were men of many wows. So they said, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" It was Philip who calculated money to buy food for them to have a bite. Mathematically speaking, it was impossible for them to feed this large crowd with their empty pocket situation. Jesus knew their situation. But in order to teach them faith that pleases God, he commanded them, "You give them something to eat." Jesus used this opportunity to train them to have faith in God and become men of responsibility. Through this command, Jesus teaches his disciples how to become leaders for God's flocks. We learn several things from this command. 

First, have a sense of responsibility. To Jesus whether or not they could feed the 5,000 did not matter. That was not the main point. What mattered was whether they had a sense of responsibility or not. Jesus did not condone the Twelve's irresponsibility. Jesus did not bypass their excuse that they could not feed them simply because they had no bread. Jesus pressed them hard to have a sense of responsibility. How then can we have a sense of responsibility?  A sense of responsibility comes when we love God. For example, when Joseph in the Bible loved God, he became a man of responsibility by looking for his brothers in the field to the end and later making them repent of their sins and helping them to become the twelve tribes of Israel. A sense of responsibility makes a man and a woman truly great. Many times we feel like complaining, “This is summer time. How can I feed sheep? It is better to wait for the fall semester.” But Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” Whenever weekend comes, my body says, “I need rest like everybody else.” But a sense of responsibility kept me going forward and made me prepare the Sunday message for last 24 years. 

Second, to experience the power of faith. When Jesus said, "You give them something to eat," he wanted his disciples to experience the power of faith. For instance, when Jesus asked, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see," they said, "Five and two fish." They despaired inwardly though they pretended to be normal outwardly. They had basic faith. But they had never experienced the power of faith. Maryland basketball team has a potential to be a NCAA champion. This year they became the Final Four team. They experienced the power of the final four and they may become a champion next year. Now was the golden opportunity for the disciples to step forward and experience the power of faith by feeding the five thousand. But they failed again because they did not have faith in Jesus. As we know, Jesus is the Creator God. He calmed the stormy sea and raised up Jairus daughter from the dead. Everything is possible in Jesus. Their problem was that they did not look at Jesus as the mighty God. Rather, they looked at their poor pocket situation and a large crowd.

  Then they gave up even before trying to do something. They did not look at Jesus' unlimited power but looked at what they did not have-a year's wages. When they were in an adverse situation they only looked at the situation, then they looked into themselves. They did not know how to find resources in God. They said to themselves, "That's impossible." They did not say, "Everything is possible for him who believes." (Mk 9:23) Jesus was eager to help them experience the power of faith. To be a leader we should not limit God with our human thinking. We must be very resourceful to serve God. Without experiencing the power of faith no one can be useful to God. God wanted his people Israel to have the power of faith. So God did not give them the promised land right away, as they had expected after the Exodus. Instead, God led them into the wilderness first, to overcome unbearable hardships. Then God led them to fight and conquer enemies in the promised land so that they might experience the power of faith. We want to raise up 12 disciples right away. But God wants us to experience the power of faith by raising up one shepherd or shepherdess first.
 

Third, go and see. How did Jesus help them? Look at verse 38. Jesus taught them that first they must go and see. Instead of calculating their human situation and doing nothing, they had to move their feet and find something. When they obeyed Jesus’ word simply, they found five loaves and two fish which was a boy’s lunch. When they brought,  Jesus fed the five thousand. When we face impossible situations, we should not give up. We must go and see. At first, it is hard for us to discover what we have. But when we try hard, we can find many things--at least five loaves and two fish--such things as youth and faithfulness, stubbornness, a broken family background, physical weakness, singing talent, smiling face, early morning prayer, testimony writing, cleaning ability, giving a ride, and cooking talent. If we humbly give what we have to God, he accepts it, whatever it is, and blesses us abundantly. When Shepherdess Jennifer shares her testimony faithfully in the YDJ meeting, everyone receives the word of God. Her testimony is 5L and 2F. God is multiplying YDJ team. She believes that her doctor’s degree may be used as her 5L and 2F for world mission. Truly God's work is a work of 5 loaves and 2 fish. When Jagun sisters offered their music talents, God blessed us to have a singspiration. When S. Mahmia quitted her job to attend the conference, God blessed her faith and made an intern shepherdess. When Shep. Patrick seemed to have nothing to give to God, he found his 5 loaves and two fish. What was it? It was his rusty trumpet he blew in the street to express his feelings of frustration. When he offered it, God blessed him. Since then he always found his 5L and 2F like his drama and writing talent. He is good in helping Anthony O. and Shannon S. The pioneering work of Washington UBF looks like a story of 5L and 2F. When three families offered their hearts and their children to God to pioneer UMCP, God multiplied their faith and raised up many young men and women of faith. God gave us a vision to pioneer 206 East Coast campuses. God blessed to pioneer Baltimore and GMU. God blessed to send the first UBF American missionary to Germany. When we tried to have CBF worship, we did not have place. When we offered the garage of the old house as 5L and 2F, God provided a beautiful east coast prayer house. The story of 5L and 2F will never end. So I have to stop here. 

 When the disciples brought what they had, what did Jesus do? Jesus did not despise what they brought but accepted them. Look at verses 39 and 40. Jesus is God. Nevertheless, he was not a one-man show. He wanted his disciples to participate in the glorious event of feeding the 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus did not want them to be spectators. There are no spectators in God's work especially in our ministry. But they could participate in a small way by saying, "Please sit down 100 by 100 or 50 by 50." What a humble participation! But to participate or not makes a big difference. When the disciples listened to his words, what happened next? Look at verses 41-44. Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish so abundantly that they all ate and were satisfied. There was still plenty left over. God's blessing was overflowing. We must firmly believe that God blesses those who give what they have to God. We must know that we can please God when we have faith in God. 

 In this passage, we learn that Jesus commands us, saying, "You give them something to eat." I pray that God may grant us a sense of responsibility for many wondering sheep around us and invite them to our summer conference, the feast of God's word.  Let's read key verse 37a.